"What's in this food?"
"You'll like it. Just eat it."
"I want to know what's in it."
"That is none of your business. It's healthy. Eat it."
"Healthy? By whose standards?"
"Our standards. Trust us."
"I trust my judgement, not yours. I demand to know what I'm putting in my body. I paid for the food. It belongs to me. I will analyze it myself."
"We have patents on the chemicals, machines, and processes that made the food. We have copyrights on the formulas and algorithms needed to make the food. You cannot examine it without our consent, which we do not give."
"You may have all those things, but once it's mine, it's fair game. I won't touch your patents or copyrights. I'll just examine the product of your secret processes, by virtue of its being in my possession, and figure out what it is and what you're doing to us."
"Stop! We who made the food will not allow you to know what is in it or how it was made. You can buy it from us only on the condition that you give up all of your rights, except the right to eat it without questioning it. It is illegal to examine or modify your food. You may trust us or starve."
***
"How does this car work?"
"Why would you care?"
"Maybe I want to repair it myself instead of through the expensive dealership. Maybe I want to manufacture my own parts. Maybe I want to modify my car and turn it into something more to my liking. Maybe I want to make it better. Maybe I just want to learn how it works."
"You can't. The engine compartment is welded shut."
"I can cut it with my torch."
"You would be breaking the law. You have no right to examine, understand, manipulate, or hack apart your car."
"But I own it, don't I?"
"You own a license to use our automotive technology, which can be revoked at will. Drive your car like everyone else. It takes you from point A to point B; isn't that enough? Our dealership takes care of everything inside, so you don't have to know about it. If you tinkered with your car, you might disable it. We want you to have a good experience with your car. If you changed or improved your car in a way that others can't, it would diminish their car experience, as well as yours. Obey us for your own good."
"A car that runs might be enough for most people, but I'm not most people. You made it, but it's my property now, and I want to tinker with it. If I disable it, I'll suffer the consequences. I'm going to learn your secrets. Maybe make a better car, and offer it to people on decent terms. Maybe put you out of business, too."
"Stop! You're under arrest!"
***
"What goes on in that ornate white building?"
"That is the Capitol. Our legislators make the laws of the land in there."
"Those laws affect my life. I'm going to find out what they're doing in there."
"No! It's not permitted! What they do is a secret. You cannot interfere."
"How does my knowing about something interfere with it?"
"Because it doesn't want you to know. If you did, you might cause trouble. Just accept whatever they decide for you, like everyone else. If you go inside, they will shoot you."
"Is it permitted to stand on the sidewalk?"
"You may stand on the sidewalk."
"Then I'm going to stand here until I figure out what those legislators are doing. I will watch them through the window. I will observe them coming and going. I will ask them questions. I'm just noticing what's in front of me and thinking about it."
"Once they know your purpose, they will tear up the sidewalk, erect a wall around the Capitol, and ban people from coming near it."
"This is ridiculous. I have the right to knowledge. I don't expect them to give up their secrets voluntarily, but I have the right to divine them through my own effort. I'm going to walk right in there and take my chances."
***
'This is a neat computer, but it won't let me install software it doesn't approve, and it won't let me change the way it works."
"Haven't we been through this before? We don't permit modifications. It hurts you and it hurts us."
"How does my playing around with a computer that I own damage you in any way?"
"It may be your possession, but you have no right to examine, modify, disassemble, decompile, or learn about it. If we let you change the software, you might make ugly design choices. You might get a computer virus. You might learn our secrets. You might make the software less reliable. You might make others, who are incapable of making those changes, jealous, and they would start demanding more freedom too. We're protecting you from bad choices. All we demand is that you substitute our judgement for yours. You are permitted to buy our computer and use it as we intend. Your desires, your ideas, your rights have no application here."
"You have a right to protect your secrets. Go ahead. I have right to fully exploit my property, and I will. If I manage to take an action you don't approve or learn something you don't want me to know, despite your material and legal roadblocks, that's to my credit."
"You will be a felon."
"Fine. Keep your fancy computer. I'll write my thoughts on freedom with pen and paper."
"This pen may only be used with certain kinds of paper available through our official paper store. You may not make your own paper. You may not open the pen or refill it yourself. Refills must be purchased through our official ink store. You may not lend your pen to others. Your pen will not function if you do not tell us who you are, where you live, and provide proof that you paid for the pen. You may use your pen at a desk only, and for writing English words only. Other uses, and uses yet to be devised, are not permitted, until we find a way to charge you for them. You may write no more than five hundred words per day..."